Transcript Document
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides
Outlines
Slide Structure
Fonts
Color
Background
Graphs
Spelling and Grammar
Conclusions
Questions
Make
your 2nd slide an outline of your
presentation
Ex: previous slide
Follow
the order of your outline for the rest
of the presentation
Only place main points on the outline slide
Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points
6 lines of text
6 words per line
Bullets
Use
imply no significant order
numbers only to show rank or
sequence
What
about them Sox hey?
Use
1-2 slides per minute of your
presentation
Write in point form, not complete sentences
Include 4-5 points per slide
6 * 6 Rule
6 words per line
6 lines per slide
Avoid
only
wordiness: use key words and phrases
This
page contains too many words for a
presentation slide. It is not written in point
form, making it difficult both for your
audience to read and for you to present each
point. Although there are exactly the same
number of points on this slide as the previous
slide, it looks much more complicated. In
short, your audience will spend too much
time trying to read this paragraph instead of
listening to you.
Show
one point at a time:
Will help audience concentrate on what you are
saying
Will prevent audience from reading ahead
Will help you keep your presentation focused
Do
not use distracting animation
Do
not go overboard with the animation
Be
consistent with the animation that you
use
Minimum 36 point for titles
24 point for body text
This
is 32 point
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
Use Sans serif (no curly feet) such as Arial or
universal for body text
Use San serif (no curly feet) such as Arial or
universal for body text
Use serif such as a roman for titles only
Use
a Readable Typeface and
Font
Typeface
Examples
Typeface Examples
Typeface
Examples
Typeface Examples
Arial
Times New Roman
Courier New
GillSans
Make
titles a larger type size than body
elements
emphasize
important statements or words
with bold, italic, larger
fonts.
size
or
different
Use at least a 24-point font
Use different size fonts for main points and
secondary points
this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point, and
the title font is 36-point
Use a standard font like Times New Roman or
Arial
The bigger the better
If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
CAPITALIZE
ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS
DIFFICULT TO READ
Don’t use a complicated font
Use
a color of font that contrasts sharply
with the background
Ex: blue font on white background
Use
color to reinforce the logic of your
structure
Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
Use
color to emphasize a point
But only use this occasionally
Using
a font color that does not contrast with
the background color is hard to read
Using colour for decoration is distracting and
annoying.
Using a different color for each point is
unnecessary
Using a different color for secondary points is
also unnecessary
Trying
to be creative can also be bad
Use the same color consistently
throughout the presentation
Use
light letters on a dark background
To
determine if a slide is
legible when projected, hold
it up to a light;
if it is readable, it is
probably fine
Avoid placing saturated primary colors (red,
green or blue) adjacent to each other.
They may create a third color where the two
colors meet.
Patterns
on bars
or pie slices
cause confusion.
Solid
colors
convey a clear
bold message
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st Qtr 2nd 3rd Qtr4th Qtr
Qtr
Blue
Red
Hatch
Other
Use
backgrounds such as this one that are
attractive but simple
Use
Use
backgrounds which are light
the same background consistently
throughout your presentation
Avoid
backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
Always be consistent with the background
that you use
Make
titles a larger type size than body
elements
emphasize
important statements or words
with bold, italic, larger
fonts.
size
or
different
Use
graphs rather than just charts and words
Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain
than is raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
Always
title your graphs
January February
Blue Balls
20.4
27.4
Red Balls
30.6
38.6
March
90
34.6
April
20.4
31.6
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
100
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
Red Balls
50
40
30
20
10
0
January
February
March
April
100
90
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
38.6
40
34.6
31.6
30.6
27.4
30
20.4
20.4
20
10
0
January
February
March
April
Minor
gridlines are unnecessary
Font is too small
Colours are illogical
Title is missing
Shading is distracting
Proof
your slides for:
speling mistakes
the use of of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make
Please
have someone else check your
presentation!
Use
Your audience is likely to remember your last
words
Use
an effective and strong closing
a conclusion slide to:
Summarize the main points of your presentation
Suggest future avenues of research
End
your presentation with a simple question
slide to:
Invite your audience to ask questions
Provide a visual aid during question period
Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
To
move text box, drag the cursor over the
box until a 4-point arrow appears.
Hold down the mouse button and drag.
To resize a text box, drag the cursor over
the box until a 2-point arrow appears.
Hold down the mouse button and drag.
To set text, click outside text box.
Add
Clipart where
appropriate
If
ever
Click
Insert.
Select Picture.
Select Clip Art.
Choose an image. Click Insert.
Save.
To
move an image, drag the cursor over the
image until a 4-point arrow appears.
Hold down the mouse button and drag.
To resize an image, drag the cursor over the
image until a 2-point arrow appears.
Hold down the mouse button and drag.
Or click Format and select Picture to adjust
image size, position, color, and line.
Click
Insert. Select New Slide.
Or click New Slide on Common Task bar.
Or click new slide icon on tool bar.
Choose the blank slide.
Insert
text. Highlight text.
Click Slide Show. Select Custom Animation.
Choose desired effect options.
Choose desired timing options.
Click Preview.
Click OK.
Save.
Insert
Clip Art.
Click Slide Show. Select Custom Animation.
Choose desired effect options.
Choose desired timing options.
Click Preview.
Click OK.
Save.
Click
forward or backward arrow.
Click Slide Show.
Select Slide Transition.
Choose desired slide transition.
Click Apply to All.
Save.
Click
Slide Show.
Select View Show.
Enjoy!
Your
slides are a focus for your presentation
Your presentation is not proof of your thesis
Your paper is proof
You present your proof with slides to focus
interest on what you think is important